As we all know by the weather, it is still winter on the calendar, but for the 30 major league baseball teams it is spring, as all of them have started spring training in preparation for the upcoming 2019 season.

Texas is one of those teams getting ready for a new season. Although the Rangers have five regular position starters returning in 2019, I almost get the feeling I need to ask the question, "Who are these guys?" when I start looking at the team's roster.

I think that feeling comes from the fact that the Rangers will have a new rookie manager this season in Chris Woodward, and almost a completely new starting rotation as only one starter is returning from 2018. Another reason for that feeling is the loss of team leader and perennial All-Star Adrian Beltre, who retired during the offseason.

Believe me, come Opening Day it is going to seem very strange to not see Beltre run out of the dugout and head to third base. The sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer is going to be missed by not only the team, but also by Ranger fans.

The Rangers are coming off a tough 67-95 campaign, but just like the first green sprigs of grass return every spring, optimism springs eternal as work is being done to prepare for the new season.

While Beltre is no longer on the roster, the five position starters who are returning to the lineup include shortstop Elvis Andrus, second baseman Rougned Odor, first baseman Ronald Guzman, right fielder Nomar Mazara and left fielder Joey Gallo. Also returning are several players -- including DH Shin-Soo Choo, catcher/utility Isiah Kiner-Falefa and outfielder Delino DeShields -- who will probably play key roles on the team this season.

Those may be familiar names to those who follow the Rangers, but the same thing probably can't be said for the pitchers who are vying for a spot in the starting rotation. When the Rangers headed to Arlington to start the 2018 season the starting rotation consisted of Cole Hamels, Doug Fister, Matt Moore, Mike Minor and Bartolo Colon.

Fast forward a year, and the only starter back among that group is Minor. After missing 2015 and 2016 because of injuries, and pitching in relief for Kansas City in 2017, Minor made 28 starts for Texas and finished with a 12-8 record and an ERA of 4.18.

Unless something very unusual happens, Minor will be the starter when the Rangers face the Chicago Cubs in the first game of the season on March 28. Currently, it appears the four starters behind Minor will all be pitchers who are new members of the Rangers. And three of those will be coming off Tommy John surgery.

One is Lance Lynn who pitched for Minnesota and the New York Yankees last season. He started 29 games in 2018 and went 10-10 for the year.

Next in line is lefty Drew Smyly, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016 when he was with Tampa Bay. That year he went 7-14 with an ERA of 4.88. He had Tommy John surgery in June 2017.

Expected to follow Smyly is Shelby Miller. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2017 and was activated by Arizona at the end of June last year, but made only four starts before missing the rest of the season due to elbow inflammation.

Rounding out the prospective rotation is a familiar name to long-time Ranger fans – Edinson Volquez, who was a top pitching prospect in the organization before being traded to Cincinnati in the deal that brought Josh Hamilton to Texas. He last pitched in the majors when he was with Miami in 2017. He went 4-8 that year before undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2017.

If a couple of those surgically repaired arms are unable to bounce back and do the job, that could open the door for either Ariel Jurado or Connor Sadzeck, two young pitchers in the Rangers’ farm system who could be close to having breakout years with the major league club.

The Rangers have a lot of questions to answer in spring training, but solidifying that starting rotation is going to be No. 1 on the list. In baseball, success always starts with pitching.